Saturday, 28 February 2015

A very good interview by President Edgar Lungu that showcases as a thoughtful, strategic and calm leader. He clearly recognises the difficult balancing act that is required if he is to stand any chance of re-election.

Thursday, 26 February 2015

I wish to brief the House and the Nation at large on the 2015 Mining Taxation Regime which is a topical issue in our country.

Despite Zambia being endowed with vast mineral resources, the country has not realised maximum benefits from the sector’s potential to support growth and enhanced socio economic development. This is against the backdrop that the sector has been experiencing high copper prices in the recent past.

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

President Lungu has assumed power when the Kwacha is again threatening to breach K7 per $1. It is currently trading at K6.95 per $1, having fallen by around 20% over the last 12 months. The current rate is just lower than the historic low of K7.05 per $1 recorded in June 2014.

However, it seems it is only a matter of time before we reach the $7 levels again given that it briefly broke through K6.80 two weeks ago. Indeed, a longer trend suggests that the Kwacha has actually halved in value against all major developed nations' currencies since Lungu’s predecessor assumed power.

Thursday, 12 February 2015

In 'A Memo to President Lungu', we briefly mentioned some of the challenges facing the new administration. In the next few posts we will try and expand on these. The first challenge Lungu has to deal with is the ongoing fall in copper prices.

The price of copper has fallen sharply losing around 10% over the last two months. It has lost around 30% over the last two years. A longer trend suggests that copper has actually fallen by more than 45 per cent in the the past four years.

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

You ran a remarkable campaign that within a month earned the Presidential seal and the admiration of the Zambian people. As you no doubt know, your journey, and that of our nation, has just begun, even as the campaign road has just ended. Over the next 18 months, together we shall face many challenges.

The world is facing slower growth. Growth in the BRICs and the Eurozone has slowed down. Copper and oil prices have fallen. There are also wider geopolitical threats of global terrorism and nation state crises. Though Zambia may be far geographically from the epicentre of many of these challenges, in an increasingly globalised world we are certainly not immune to them.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

COPYRIGHT

DISCLAIMER

The Zambian Economist is a private website produced and maintained in my own time, and reflects solely my personal opinions. Statements published on the Zambian Economist do not represent the views or policies of employers, friends, family, past or present, or anyone I may or may not be associated with. Any view, opinion or information submitted in the comments section is the sole responsibility of the respective contributor or visitor to the site. These do not in any way represent the views of Zambian Economist nor can I be held responsible for them.